Anchorage
History Anchorage, along with most other cities in Alaska, was one of the first cities to leave the Union of Nations after the oil crisis of 2125. Despite having only been in the Union for 25 years, they had a well-established greenhouse program necessitated by their northern location. Anchorage served as a center of trade in the Northern Pacific but was often overshadowed by Vladivostok across the ocean and Vancouver to the south. Anchorage, in turn, overshadowed smaller communities like [[Sitka]] , [[Ketchikan]], and [[Kenai]], which were unable to become major economic players due to their proximity to Anchorage. The city, with almost 600,000 people, is often misunderstood by its neighbors, which has led to tension with them in the past few years, and many Alaskans feel they'll have to overthrow Anchorage to have any chance of building a better future in the region. Government Anchorage is currently led by Mayor John Rowland, a moderate politician with aims of regional leadership and cooperative defense. He doesn't see his neighbors as threats, but rather as potential partners in challenging powers like Vancouver and Vladivostok, which each have more ambitious aims. John Rowland is assisted by a legistlative council of twenty members, elected from the twenty wards of Anchorage, each with roughly equal population. The Council cannot make proposals. All bills must be submitted either by a petition of 10,000 residents or by the Mayor. When that occurs, the Council then votes on whether or not to pass it. A simple majority (11) is needed. If there is a tie, the Mayor breaks it. He may also choose to put the proposal to a popular vote instead. The Mayor is elected by a popular vote to a five-year term, and the Council members are elected by their wards every three years. Council members may serve an indefinite number of terms, but mayors can serve a max of three terms. Mayor Rowland is in his first term, which ends in 2155. Economy Anchorage had been experiencing an oil boom until 2125, so the global crisis quickly crushed its economy. Unemployment exploded to 20% and poverty rose to nearly 50%. Anchorage elected a new mayor, Harry Brown, in 2125, who immediately proposed leaving the Union. The council passed it 12-8, and Anchorage became one of the first 100 cities to depart from the road to globalization. This temporarily saved the economy, as the rest of the world was unable to bring down Anchorage with it. Unemployment leveled out at 14% and poverty dropped to 33%. Anchorage opened its doors to tourism and fishing and increased its greenhouse output in order to stimulate other portions of the economy. It produced ships and sold them to Pacific Rim cities, and soon Anchorage was recovering faster than nearly every city on Earth. Harry Brown was elected to two more terms and continued his balanced economy approach, with Anchorage focused on a variety of economic aspects rather than just oil. Now in 2152, Anchorage is the largest shipbuilder of the North Pacific, a champion of renewable energy, and a leader in technology. Military